A Much Needed Surprise
by Xervesblack
Summary: A one shot set after the finale of LoK's Book 3. While taking care of Korra, Asami has noticed the the Avatar' spirits have been understandably low. In order to help ease the pain and doubt that Korra is feeling Asami with Mako, Bolin, and Pema organize a surprise to help cheer her up. Implied Korrasami.


Disclaimer: I do not own the magnificence that is _The Legend of Korra. _That would be Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino. Good work guys, good work._  
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Asami opened the door to Korra's room to find that the Avatar was still lying asleep in her bed. Off to the side of the bed was Korra's wheelchair that marked the effect that the Red Lotus's poison had on the girl's body. Asami hated Zaheer for what he had done to Korra, as did everyone else, and for what? Anarchy? Zaheer and the Red Lotus could preach all that they wanted about how Anarchy was "natural" state of the world, but if that was true than Asami was perfectly fine with living in an unnatural state.

Ba Sing Se was a warzone in its current state; for three weeks there have been countless raids, murders, and worse going on within the city. The freedom that Zaheer had promised was a disaster. Mako and Bolin's newly discovered family had almost burned in their own home thanks to some act of arson. If the two brothers had not reached the family's apartment in time then their discovery of their family would have been more tragic than celebratory. Now Tenzin, Jinora, and some of the advanced airbenders had gone to the Earth Kingdom to try and quell the violence.

Asami sat down in front of the desk right beside of Korra's bed and pulled out a set of papers for the carrier bag she had brought with her. She decided to let Korra rest today, after all today they weren't in any hurry. So for the next hour she looked over various reports and documents for Future Industries signing whatever need to be sign and correcting any errors that she found in designs.

She was looking over some modifications for airship designs, specifically modifications to make sure they didn't have the same errors the Cabbage Corp airship she spent time on had, when Asami noticed the Avatar stirring in the corner of her eyes. The heiress reached out and placed her hand on Korra's arm to let her know that she was there.

"Asami," Korra groggily muttered, use to her friend's presence, "why didn't you wake me? Aren't I going to be late for the healing session?"

"Kya had to reschedule the meeting today," Asami lied.

"Why? Did something happen?"

"No, nothing like that," she reassured her friend. She noticed that Korra was having a difficult time pushing herself up, so Asami got off her seat and pulled the Avatar up against the pillows. Once Korra was comfortably sitting up she continued, "Kya just wanted to grab some supplies in the city, that's it. I thought we'd just relax today, have fun."

"Sounds great," Korra said though there was no feeling in her voice and there was something else, that frown. Asami hated that damn frown. Ever since the poison wreaked havoc on her body, the frown occupied much of its time on her face. What Asami wouldn't give to see Korra rid of it. Hopefully the plan for today would help with that particular issue.

"C'mon on, it'll be fun," the heiress assured her.

Korra stared down at her lap clearly not buying into what Asami was saying. "What do you have planned," she asked relenting.

"Well first I was thinking breakfast."

"That's a good place to start I guess."

"Great. I'll go get some food for the both of us then. Naga," the instant she mentioned the name the polar bear dog's large, white head appeared in the sole window in the room, "look after her for me." Naga pulled her head out from the window and was probably on her way inside. Asami slipped out of the room just in time to avoid a collision with the heavy mass of fur that was speeding into the room.

When she reached the kitchen Pema was already there making a meal. "How is she feeling this morning?" Pema asked once she noticed her.

"Same as usual," she replied while picking up two cups and heading towards the sink, "Do you have any treats for Naga? She is looking after Korra now and I'd rather not get on the bad side of a polar bear dog."

"Check that cabinet right above you. I really hope your surprise will help her feel better."

"So do I," she said as she pulled out the box of Naga's treats with one hand and switched the filled glass with the empty glass under the sink, "but everyone has been sooo busy lately that getting everyone together for a bit should just be fun."

Pema walked over and placed a tray of food beside Asami, "You kids all work so hard I think you deserve to rest for a day."

"I run a company, I don't really get the chance to rest," Asami countered. Both women began to laugh.

"Have you heard from Tenzin and Jinora?" she asked mentally kicking herself for asking such a troubling question.

"Mello and Ikki are talking to Tenzin right now over the phone. He says that they've managed to establish order in part of Ba Sing Se's inner city. The nobles didn't like the raids obviously and it was practically a blessing when Tenzin and the airbenders arrived, so it wasn't hard to get them to cooperate." Pema paused and looked down at her dress which she was using to wipe off her hands, "The rest of the city is resisting though." It wasn't hard to see that she was worried about Jinora, still a little girl, helping to bring a violent city of raider s under control.

"She'll be okay," Asami assured her, "Tenzin and Bumi are both there to look after her, and Jinora is a master now."

Pema gave a little smile, "They really do grow up so fast. You better get going don't want to keep Korra waiting," she said nodding to the tray of food.

Asami picked it up and started to head out the door, "Thanks, Pema, for helping out."

"Don't be silly, you are the one helping us out looking after Korra. Besides all you are family."

Back in Korra's room she found Naga had laid her head on Korra's lap and that she was stroking Naga's head while looking at the wall thinking; reliving. Reliving every horrible moment that she had experienced and overcome while performing her duties as the Avatar. Every madman she had stopped and it all lead to this moment in which she was now broken.

It wasn't only the waking hours in which these memories plague Korra though, Asami knew about the nightmares as well. She remembered one of the first nights when she stayed to help Korra she could hear her muttering in her sleep, and the dreams never seemed to slow. It hurt her to see someone like Korra so in pain. Worse the pain was mostly spiritually and that would take more than healing session with Kya to fix.

"I've brought us some food," she said announcing that she had returned. Naga lifted her head off of Korra's lap and looked as Asami expectantly. "I've brought treats for the Avatar's fierce and loyal best friend as well," she answered the animal's questioning eyes, and threw a treat towards the polar bear dog. Naga's head snapped out and gulped the treat in a single bite before returning to her master and friend's lap.

Asami placed the tray on the bed next to Korra's legs and Korra turned from the wall to face her. She placed her hand on the polar bear dog's head and started to gently stoke it again.

"Hey, Asami," Korra said slowly like she was thinking carefully about what she was going to say, "why are you doing all this? Pema and the air acolytes can take care of it all and don't you have to run some big expensive company?" The last part she said with a smile to show it was a jest, but only enough of a smile to she meant no harm.

"Haha," she laughed gracefully, "Future Industries can survive a few days without me there, plus I can do most of the paperwork here. And I think Pema is already busy enough looking after Ikki, Meelo, and Rohan, and wouldn't you rather have a friend looking after than the air acolytes?"

"Yeah, I guess I would. It's ju-" Asami sat down on the bed beside her, grabbing the tray of food to make sure that it didn't fall onto the floor, and put her hand on Korra's shoulder to tell her to stop.

"I know what you're about to say and don't worry about it. I don't mind helping you, Korra," she said with a smile.

Again Korra's head turned down towards her lap where Naga's head laid sleepily though she was no longer petting her, "I can handle myself you know. I'm not weak."

"Korra!" she half yelled as she grabbed the Avatar so that Asami was staring straight into her blue eyes. Her eyes were hard and her voice stern as she spoke, "I know that. I have been lucky enough to get to know you, and if there is one thing I learned it's how strong you are. I have seen you firsthand take down the some of the most experienced pro-benders, Equalists, Amon, Unalaq, and the Red Lotus. I _know_ that you're strong and I _know _that you will get better, but until then I'm here to help you. And so is everyone else."

Korra's eyes had grown large doing Asami's speech, unable to believe all the praise that she was being given, but by the end she was unable to look into Asami's own emerald eyes. She could see tears beginning to form in her eyes though she could tell Korra was determined not to cry. Korra probably felt guilty for what she had said, and Asami for her part might have sounded angrier than she really was.

She took her hands off of the Avatar's should though she lightly pushed up Korra's chin so that they were looking each other in the eyes, "We believe in you. I believe in you," she added.

Korra sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, "Thanks, Asami, I needed to hear that."

"No problem, if you ever need someone to talk to than I'm your girl. Now, let's eat and get you prepared for the rest of the day."

"And then Lau turned to me and his face was as red as Mako's when he came to see us about that first airbender. He was so embarrassed," Asami laughed as she finished her story. It had been a few hours since they had had their breakfast and Asami was putting the finishing touches on Korra's hair.

"Wow, you almost make it sound like it was a good thing that the Earth Queen captured us."

"No good, but it did give me some valuable business insight for their airships. Whenever I meet with companies I make sure to point out some of the faults in their… craftsmanship, and thanks to that I've been able to sell almost three times as many airships." Asami paused for a moment and looked out the window at the sunny, tranquil environment. She figured that it was about lunch time, which meant that everything should be set up.

"Korra, do you want go outside for a bit? Get some fresh air." The Avatar sat there thinking it over for a moment.

"It couldn't hurt, and Naga looks like she is cramped anyway," she said gesturing to the polar bear dog that was rolling around back and forth on the bed. Asami gave a smile and grabbed the handles to Korra's wheelchair and turned her towards the exit. She wheeled her outside into the hallway and around the complex where her surprise waited outside.

A blanket was lain on the ground by the fish pond, just underneath the tree. There, setting out plates for a picnic, was a boy with a black hair, a grey jacket lined with pale green on the edges, and a fire ferret running up to his shoulder.

"Bolin?" Korra asked surprised.

"Oh hey, Korra," he said giving a nervous wave while trying to set the dishes out faster. "I, uh, didn't quite get a chance to finish setting all this up yet. I was late you see, because my grandmother was trying to convince me to get rid of my 'rat' and Pabu and I took offense to that, but I didn't say anything to her. She's my long lost grandmother, I mean, so I could argue with her, but I there is no way I could ever get rid of Pabu either. Right Pabu?" the ferret squeaked and gave a nod before scurrying over to climb on Naga's back. "I had to think of a clever way to get out of there before she could try and get rid of Pabu again. I ended up making up some story about a spirit attacking the city and me having to save the day."

"Did she believe you?" Asami asked sincerely wondering if the brothers' grandmother would believe such a story.

"N- no, no she didn't," Bolin answered deflated. "She thought I was talking about some mover part. Now I think I need to find someone to make a mover about a spirit attacking Republic city."

Korra let out a laugh that caught Asami by surprise. It was a loud laugh that was filled with joy; a laugh that no one had heard from Korra in weeks. A laugh that Asami was truly thrilled to hear again.

"Maybe you should give Varrick a call in Zaofu. I'm sure he would make a mover like that in an instant."

"No thanks," Bolin said rapidly waving his arms in an x motion, "I would rather not have Varrick frame my brother again."

"Speaking of Mako, where is he?" Asami asked looking around the courtyard but finding no sign of him.

"Oh, he's over at the police station. Said he won't be able make it until later."

"You've got to be kidding," Asami exploded, "is he really still avoiding us? I thought that he had gotten over that!"

"No-no-no-no, he's helping Lin investigate a guy they think is part of the Red Lotus. He will be here, don't worry, but he couldn't let a Red Lotus member get away. He might know something important, 'ya know."

"Oh," Asami said slowly as she realized how much she had overreacted. Her cheeks flushed red and she buried her face in her palm from the embarrassment. "Sorry."

"Hey, it's okay. We all know how much work you put trying to work around and he wouldn't try and mess that up. Even Lin was pretty understanding when Mako told her why he wanted the day off.

There was a moment of silence before Korra spoke up, "Then let's enjoy this picnic. Um, where is the food?"

"Oh! Oh, I've got it!" shouted an excited voice from the temple.

"I've got more!" shouted another excited, though more high pitched, voice.

They all turned their heads to see Ikki and Meelo running towards them carrying as much food as their arms could carry. Behind them was a worried Pema who kept warning the young children not to drop any of the food, but the two were too busy debating who had more food or who would bring it to the teens quicker.

"Korra!" they both shouted in unison.

"Ikki. Captain Meelo." She answered them with a mock salute and a smile. The kids were one of the rare things that could make the Avatar smile over the last three weeks.

"You're so lucky to be having a picnic!" Ikki said jumping up and down. "I want to go on a picnic. Most of the ones I gone on before weren't much fun, but I bet your picnic will be loads of fun. Can I please join? Please?"

"We can have one of our own inside or at the park, Ikki," Pema suggested while placing the last of the food on the blanket.

"Aw, but I wanna to join Korra's picnic," she stubbornly said making a little pouty face.

Asami turned and bent down to Ikki, "What if we have another picnic?" Asami suggested. "We can have it after your father, Jinora, and Bumi all get back. We can invite Kya and Lin too," the last one she said while looking at Meelo who frequently referred to the police chief as his hero.

"Yay," both said then sped away on airballs towards the complex.

"All of you have fun," Pema said waving as she followed her children in haste.

"Look at all this food," Bolin said leaning and sniffing the abundance of food lain out before them, "Dumplings, rice, lychee nuts, a little fish, some artic hen, and even a fruit pie. Man Pema went all out and it all looks so good."

"It looks delicious," Korra agreed.

"Let's get you down on the blanket so you can get some then," Asami said as she wheeled Korra closer. Naga walked towards them and laid down so that Korra could sit against her side. Asami and Bolin helped the Avatar down to her furry companion.

"Here," Asami said handing Korra an empty plate after they settled her down. They passed the food amongst themselves while catching up with each other after three busy weeks where they hadn't been able to all get together at once.

"How's the family, Bolin?" Korra asked while she tossed a cooked salmon towards the polar bear dog. After he and Mako had rescued them for Ba Sing Se, Bolin spent some of his mover money to buy his family a large apartment in the city.

"Most of them have gotten use to Republic City, though grandma is still grieving over the death of the Earth Queen. I have no idea why considering what a horrible person the Earth Queen was. Tu is trying to become a pro-bender like me and Mako were, and he's isn't bad actually but he's still needs to work more. He's not a natural like Mako, Korra, or me."

"You can always teach him," Korra suggested pointing towards Bolin with her chopsticks, "you _are_ a really good teacher. You taught me pro-bending techniques when I was just starting up and we all most won the championship."

"Thanks. Yeah, I guess I am a good teacher," he said rubbing the back of his head with one hand and grabbing another artic hen with the other. "What about you, Korra?"

Korra let out a sigh, "It's been nothing but healing sessions with Kya for me."

"So," Bolin nervously started as he was about to ask the elephant rhino in the room, "how are the sessions working?"

"They're not."

"They are," Asami corrected, "just not very quickly."

"What about you?" Bolin asked turning towards Asami. "How is running Future Industries going?"

"It's going well. I haven't much time in the office though," she said nodding towards Korra, "but I can get all the important paperwork done here and I enjoy it out here more than in some office all day. Spending time with Korra is a lot more fun than working with a bunch of assistants."

"Well I hope I would be," Korra interjected and the three of them began to laugh.

"Looks like I missed a lot," came another voice. All three of them looked up to see Mako strolling towards them still in his police uniform and carrying a bag with him. "Sorry I'm late."

"It's fine, Bolin, already explained," Asami said handing Mako an empty plate.

"Thanks bro. Uh, what happened to most of the food? I'm not that late." Both girls looked over at Bolin who at the moment was shoving dumplings into his mouth.

"Sorry," he said apologetically though that didn't stop him from eating another dumpling.

"Thanks bro. It's a good thing I brought this," he said holding up the bag. He opened it up and pulled out four bowls of green noodles. Mako bent a small fire to heat up each bowl and handed them out to the others.

"Narook's noodles?" Korra asked.

"Yeah, I picked them up on the way here. Narook almost had a heart attack when he saw me still in my uniform. He thought I was coming to arrest one of his customers or something. He was so relieved to find out I just wanted some noodles," Mako finished with a laugh.

"Narook should know you would never cause trouble there," Bolin said to his brother. "Korra might but that was only that one time with Tahno."

"How did the investigation go? Any luck with the Red Lotus member?" Korra asked.

"No he, uh, got away," Mako said turning head away slightly. "The chief was furious."

"I bet Lin was," Asami said.

"How did he get away?" Korra asked.

"Oh, we had him cornered and… he really didn't want us to learn anything important. How are the noodles?" he asked quickly to change the subject to something less depressing. "I hope they still taste fresh."

"Oh they're great," Bolin said seeing what Mako was doing.

"Bolin did you tell them about those two would be thieves yesterday?"

"No! No I didn't. You should tell them."

"What happened?" Korra asked.

"These two waterbenders were really desperate for yuans and decided they needed the money quick. They must have been stupid or drank a lot of cactus juice, because they decided to try and rob the police station. There were probably a dozen cops in the lobby when they came in and announced they were robbing us. We all started laughing and they had no idea why until after the chief had already tied them up, and after that even the chief started to laugh."

"Even Lin was laughing?"

"I know, scary thought right?" Bolin commented to Korra.

"The best part is they didn't even realize they were in the station until after we locked them up. They thought they were all in a really well guarded bank the whole time. One guy, when he was finally locked up, tried to tell us we couldn't because he was on 'base' apparently." Everyone erupted into laughter and Bolin was laughing so hard he looked like he would pass out.

Asami sat there and continued to smile and laugh, happy that her picnic had helped boost everyone's spirits. It may not have been a grand or complex event, not counting having to find a time that worked for everyone, but she knew this is what Korra needed; a simple get together with her friends. Asami knew it because it was her friends that had made all the difference when she had learned about her father's ties to the Equalist or when her company was struggling because no one wanted to deal with a Equalist company. Korra and the others had been there for her and now she was doing the same for her.

"Who wants some fruit pie?" Bolin asked waving the dessert around on its plate. They all called for some pie and laughed and told more stories for the next two hours. When they were finished Mako and Bolin said their goodbyes and went back to their apartment next to their family's apartment. Asami took Korra to Kya for her healing session and Asami cleaned up after the picnic.

Late into the night, long after the picnic had finished, Asami was putting the wheelchair away while Korra was already in the bed.

"Hey Asami, thanks for the picnic earlier. Bolin said it was your idea, and I, uh, didn't know how much I needed that."

"Of course," Asami said as she strolled to the chair next to Korra's bed, "I told you I would help you if you needed anything. Even something you didn't know you needed."

"You're a great friend," Korra said with a shy, little smile.

"Thanks. You look like you're all set for the night, so if you are okay I think I'm going to-"

"Asami!" Korra interrupted, "Before you go do you think I could ask one more favor?"

"What is it?"

"Well, it's kind of stupid but I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping the past few weeks, and Kya thinks that could be messing around with the healing. So after you reminded me how much having a friend around could help, I was wondering if you wouldn't... mind staying just a little bit longer." Asami sat there a little surprised at the Avatar's request and immediately Korra turned red, "I'm sorry I know it's a weird request and don't think I'm try force you to stay here."

"No, that sounds fun Korra. Actually if you want I could stay the night here with you if you want, like a sleepover." Asami really didn't mind staying the night and she still had some clothes in her old room at the temple, so why not. She really enjoyed spending time with and it was sweet the way Korra asked for help.

"A sleepover? Yeah, that sounds great."

Korra laid down on the bed and began to talk to her about whatever came to mind; the fights they had been in, the latest gossip around the island, Asami's new machines. It wasn't long before the Avatar had started to drift away into sleep, and the nightmares began. Her face began to distort like she was struggling against an unknown force and sweat began to cover her face. As her upper body began to shake Asami reached down and put her hand on top of Korra's. Korra, still asleep, gripped tightly a hold of her friend's hand and started to calm her breathing and her movements.

"Don't worry Korra," Asami said to the dreaming Avatar, "I'm right here with you."

Author's note: I have just done the one thing I never thought I would do and that's make a fanfic. Don't get me wrong I have _nothing_ against them, but they just never interested me as some something to write. That said I had a blast writing this and I hope you all enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'd really appreciate feedback on what I did well(so I can keep doing it) and what I did horribly(so I can fix it).

Fun facts: I just finished my 3rd+ watchthrough of Book one, am six episodes into my second watch through of Book 2, and after that I'll start my 3rd watch through of Book 3. Then Book 4!

So I finished this at midnight which means I had, coincidentally, finished this right as Korrasami week start. Would have posted it then but 12 hour waiting period for a new account and I was busy as hell today. But as a loyal Korrasami shipper since Book 1 I got a laugh out of that.


End file.
